10 Tips for Surviving A Public Washroom Visit

Public restrooms are filthy. And they are especially deplorable if they are in our country because there are so many people using it all the time and there is hardly any maintenance. In fact, one can not even be sure of expecting a clean washroom at a five-star hotel. There are many a paid toilet in our metropolitan cities that look clean, but most of the times what looks clean is definitely not. And on top of it, the invisible germs are more harmful than what the naked eyes can see. We, at SafetyKart, have a propensity of taking are of all your worries and leaving them to us.

Hence, today, we are telling you that however dirty the public toilets anywhere are, it’s our responsibility to make sure that we do not catch any diseases by using them. And for that we need to take some precautions beforehand in order to be safe. Here are 10 tips for surviving a public restroom visit:

Survey before using the stall

Take a good look around when you enter a public restroom. Your short term goal is to find the visibly cleanest one. According to a study, in a men’s restroom, the stall closest to the door is the least used one. Hence, you can keep such things in mind before sing a specific stall. Females need to be even more cautious because they come in contact with the toilet seats to even urinate. Hence, using the cleanest looking one can be your first line of defence.

Be wary while flushing

The most amount of chances of spreading bacteria is actually after one has relieved oneself and flushes the toilet thereafter. The “spray zone” of that toilet can be as much as 6 feet wide & around, that means you are definitely prone to catching a drop of a stray water drop here & there. Always keep your face away from the toilet while flushing. And it is always better to not use the flush knob with a bare hand, use the tissue paper or do it using your foot.

Always wash your hands

This is an age-old cardinal rule but most people still tend to conveniently forget this after using the loo. It is a universal appeal to everyone who ever lived that washing their hands before coming out of the washroom is very important. In order to make it safer, wash your hands in warm water if it is available anywhere and always rub your hands for at least 20 seconds after applying soap before rinsing.

Leave the restroom safely

Using the toilet is just half the battle won. Actually getting out of the restroom is the actual war. Even after washing your hands and doing all the chores, you still manage to catch the germs from the rest of the surroundings because the restroom is used by a million people every month and hence the germs are everywhere, including on the exit door knob. Always use a tissue paper to touch everything.

Report to the management if the washroom is in dismal state

Immediately bring it to the notice of the concerned authorities if the situation of the washroom is not good. Sometimes it so happens that the management is actually unaware of what the cleaning guy is up to. Hence, the management will make sure the washroom is taken care of by the cleaning guy once you complain. Keep a soap & hand sanitizer at disposal: It is rare that you would get a good soap to wash your hands with at a public washroom, so it’s always a good idea to keep your own quota of a liquid or paper soap or hand sanitizer at disposal for personal hygiene.

Look for well-lit washrooms

The reason is simple – the more you see, the safer you are from the dirtiness around. Also, if the toilet is kept well-lit, chances are it is a maintained property. Hence, it is good to use that washroom over someplace else’s.

Use a toilet-seat sanitizer

PeeSafe, a toilet seat sanitizer spray is a perfect product for your toilet seat. It gives you 99.9% germ-free toilet experience. If you are planning to go outside somewhere via flight or railways then it can be a handy product as the toilet seats are not clean at all.

If possible, use family washrooms

Family washrooms are deliberately kept cleaner because it is a natural sign that the people using it will be civil and would take care of hygiene of others as well. Hence, family washrooms are great alternatives over roadside public washrooms.

Accompany children to the public washrooms

In order to avoid your little loved ones to be safe from germs as well as potential pedophiles around when outside, always keep them company when they are headed to the public toilets. Go inside with them and help them with all the chores and bring them back. Prevention is better than cure.

I am Prateek Dham, a comedy of errors. An engineer as a graduate. An adman as a postgraduate. Once a journo by profession. A storyteller by heart. I live in a paradox. I love to eat till I sleep. And I wake up when I’m hungry.

It was the dreadful night of December 16 2012. Following day, the news of Nirbhaya gang rape in Delhi shook the entire nation and the world, keeping everyone speechless and terribly shocked. On this day, the Founders of SafetyKart.com decided to create a mobile platform for not only to create a one-stop online shopping destination of products and services related to safety, but also to build awareness of safety in the communities. Arduous efforts during the next eight weeks saw the launch of "SafetyKart.com" in February 2013.